


It Lives Beyond The Treeline

by TheBrothersRowe



Category: It Lives Beneath (Visual Novel), It Lives in the Woods (Visual Novel)
Genre: And love the new one, But og gang, Continuation Story, F/F, F/M, I do not accept that ending, I miss the og gang, tw: PTSD, tw: depression, tw: thoughts of suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-08-14 07:55:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16488683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrothersRowe/pseuds/TheBrothersRowe
Summary: It had been only a week since Krinn died, and Lucas couldn't believe it still. The girl he had loved since they were young, the one he dated, took to homecoming, gone. She had taken Jane's place as the monster they called Redfield. All the friend's are mourning, but one day...something shocking happens.Lucas is haunted with a dream of Krinn still being at the fallen ruins, taking her place as the new Redfield. Unable to handle abandoning the girl he loved again, he sets out to find a way to end the curse once and for all. However, on his journey, he will find obstacles. Some more horrifying than what they faced before. Will his friends stop him, will Lucas be slaughtered by the supernatural forces that haunt this earth, or will he be able to find his love once again and save her from whatever hell's have claimed her?And what does a place called Pine Springs have to do with it?





	1. Back at the Beginning

Lucas absentmindedly tapped his pencil on his paper, barely able to focus in class. Sometimes he missed being top student, even if it was agonizing. At least with all the stress weighted on him, his mind was always busy with assignments and projects...he was never just...left to think.

"Lucas? Lucas!" The boy lifted his head up in alarm hearing the yell, looking to the front of the class to find Mr. Cooper. Shit. Taking a moment to collect himself, Lucas looked up to the teacher. "Yes, Mr. Cooper?" He asked. The teacher looked at him, casting a small glare to all the students that made snide remarks or giggled at Lucas. The boy silently growled under her breath, clenching his fist tightly. Assholes. Bastards all of them. They couldn't possibly understand was going through his head. Hell, what was going through the groups head!

"Krinn, Krinn!" Lucas shouted as he ran back into the broken down ruins, searching for signs of their missing friend. Ava was right behind him, searching desperately for the girl. Andy grunted, leaning heavily on Tom and Stacy due to his injured leg. "Krinn! Krinn, where the hell are you?!" Andy shouted, all of them searching desperately for the girl. When they got no reply, all of them began to run down the steps...the steps that led to the horrifying cave of where they played that damned game.

Are you scared...?

"Lucas, I'd like to speak to you outside for a moment." Mr. Cooper said, taking Lucas out of the memory. He had already lived through it enough times, but he was still dealing with it. The damned memory haunting his mind. Setting his pencil down, he shut his notebook, standing up. Stacy gave him a concerned look, and he gave her a small wave, as if to tell her all was fine. But both of them knew it wasn't fine... none of it was. With one last concerned look, Lucas followed Mr. Cooper out of the classroom, making his way into the hallway.

Glancing around the hallway, the teacher closed the door behind them, looking at the teen boy. This was the same teacher who was proud of his efforts, worried for him, but was the same teacher that almost exposed him. "Mr. Cooper, if it's about my grades-" Lucas began. "Don't." The teacher stopped him, "You don't have to explain anything to me." Mr. Cooper said, shocking Lucas. "I understand Krinn was very close to you. Death is never something easy to deal with, and everyone mourns in their own ways." Mr. Cooper explained, "I won't grade you to harshly for some time. But Lucas, if you ever need to step out, or need to talk to someone, just ask.". It took him a moment to process everything, before slowly nodding, uttering a thank you. And with that, both of them returned to class.

Lunch time came, and Lucas found himself sitting with the others. All of them were still bothered by the missing presence of Krinn. Feeling as if the void would always be there. The girl with long black hair shaved on one side, always wearing her signature black leather jacket, no one expected her to be what brought them together. Most people thought Krinn was just some weird girl who lived out by the woods, her parents almost always gone. But the others knew so much more. And every day it hurt, not being able to tell the truth. Tell the truth to her devastated parents about what happened to their little girl.

Britney broke the silence by speaking. "I was able to get the Homecoming pictures early, if you guys wanted them." She spoke. Lucas choked slightly on his food, making Britney grimace. Stacy looked at her former enemy, giving a sad smile. "That's Britney. I bet the pictures look great." She said. Britney nodded, digging through her bag, and soon pulled out several photos. "There." Britney said, laying them out for the group to see.

"Ava, you still look great in that dress." Lily beamed at the photo of all the girls. "Don't get used to that, it's never happening again." Ava remarked, doing her best to suppress a smile. "Those dresses were really nice...especially Krinn's." Stacy frowned a bit, staring at the white dress with black lace the girl had been wearing that day. Only after she said those words did she notice the haunted look casted over Lucas' face. She attempted to shake him back into focus, but nothing could be heard to him. Dark brown eyes staring in sheer horror behind his glasses, haunted gaze fixated on the girl's dress.

The group rushed down the stairs, lagging behind them was Connor. The boy was about to make his way downstairs, when something caught his attention. Two names were carved into the stone wall, 'Redfield' and 'Jane'. And right before his very eyes, being scrawled out onto the wall was written 'Krinn'. His blue eyes widened in complete terror, the eldest Green's blood running cold when a chilling voice called out to him, "Connor.". It was...her voice. Shaking his head, the boy ran after the teens, hoping to stop them before they saw something that would haunt them forever. Too bad he was too late.

They all stood at the bottom of the steps, standing in the cave, frozen in disbelief. Just past where they were playing moment ago, in the water was Krinn. The young Asian girl laid completely still, her half shaven black hair floating in the water around her body. The dress she was so proud to show off soaked, stained with mud and blood. Being the first to snap out of it, Lucas bursted into a full sprint, running to his girlfriend. "Krinn!" Lily cried out in horror, the rest soon following. The first to make it to the water were Ava and Lucas, pulling the girl from the water. To their horror, she was completely still, cold and soaked to the bone. "Shit, shit come on wake up!" Ava shouted, sounding more like a demand than a plea. "Oh my god..." Stacy gasped out, putting a hand over her mouth. Connor had caught up, grimacing realizing he was to late. Not knowing what else to say, Connor held his sister close, letting her cry into his shirt.

Lucas held her body close to his, pushing her hair gently out of her face. "Krinn please, please wake up." His voice wavered, pleading for her to open her dark eyes, and smile at him, "Wake up please, Krinn.". Andy took off his blue jacket to his suit, putting it on his shoulder, hoping it would somehow bring back the warmth to her. Lucas whimpered heavily, hearing not breathing leaving her soft lips, and he knew, he knew she was gone.

The boy was brought to reality by the school bell ringing. He slowly shook his head, standing up, and picking up his bag. All the others in their group gave him a worried look, and he barely addressed them, just walking out of the cafeteria all together heading to class.

After a long agonizing school day, Lucas finally made it home. Giving a thankful sigh, Lucas opened his door, walking inside his home. Much to his dread, his mother was there. She wasn't particularly bad, not anymore at least, she just decided to start worrying about him a lot. He knew she had come to like Krinn in the end, asking for him to take photos with her even after he was nearly grounded for like. Almost sneaking down the hall and up the stairs, Lucas let out a soft groan hearing his mother's heels creaking against the hardwood floor.

"Lucas, is that you?" His mother's figure appeared in the hallway, spotting her son. The boy sighed, turning around to look at his mother. "Yeah, I'm back. The other club leaders took over today." Lucas spoke. "That's good, heaven knows you have enough on your mind as is." She spoke. He nodded, gesturing to the stairs, "Yeah, look mom I got a ton of work, and homework.". "Say no more sweetheart," He prepared to head upstairs, when she spoke once more, "Don't forget your appointment with Dr. Rhet after school Friday, I'll pick you up from school.". Lucas bit his tongue to stop him from lashing out, and nodded. "I will, thanks mom.".

And with that he finally made it up stairs, collapsing onto his bed.


	2. Hello Again

Lucas groaned aloud hearing his mother calling for him, making the boy sit up, rubbing his eyes. Of fucking course. Sitting up, Lucas released a soft sigh, checking his clock. 4:32PM, he must've been asleep only an hour. Shaking his head, he got up from his bed, making his way out of the room.

"Lucas, I'm heading out for a bit! Your father's going to be out until late, so you'll be home alone a few hours!" His mother called out, leaving the home.

A sigh of defeat left Lucas' lips. "Of course..." He breathed out, shaking his head. He was never particularly close to his parents...but after everything with Redfield and Krinn, he wished they would both just take a moment and stay home. Sighing softly to himself, Lucas walked back into his room, closing the door behind him. The boy shivered, surprised finding a draft coming in from his window. "I must've opened it this mourning...probably forgot." Lucas whispered to himself, walking to the window, and preparing to shut it. As he did though, a shocking boom of thunder clapped, surprising him. A frantic yell left his lips as he backed away, biting his lip as it began pouring outside.

Many people didn't know this, but he was terrified of the thunder. The loud noises terrified him. Most loud noises did.

Backing away from the window sill, the boy sat on the bed, shaking slightly. "Calm down, calm down..." He attempted to calm himself down, struggling to hold back the tears. Nothing worked, he was a complete mess, tears streaming own his tan cheeks. Running fingers through his hair, Lucas thought of calling any of the others. No, no, he couldn't bother them over this. Hell, they'd probably laugh at him for freaking out.

Unknown to him, someone was watching him. The rain echoed from outside, only for the noise to be muted once the window was shut by an unknown force. Lucas held himself on the bed, shivering in fear. Suddenly, the dread vanished, and he felt his mood change almost instantly. "W-What..?" Lucas asked, finding his tears gone, and face dry. That's when he felt it. Another presence, someone in the room with him. How though? He was the only one home. "W-Who's there?" Lucas asked, nervously. To his horror, a soft whimsical laugh filled the room. No, no, no! it couldn't be who he thought it was!

"YOU'RE NOT REAL!" Lucas found himself shouting, bolting up from the bed, rushing out of his room. The whimsical laughter soon turned into a screech of rage, making the teen's ears ring. How the Hell was Redfield or Jane, or whatever it went by here?! They played the damned game, all of them won! WHY THE FUCK WAS IT BACK?!

Lucas ran out of his room, running as fast as he could, only to stop as a family photo was flung at the wall before him. A piece of the broken glass cut him, making him flinch. "Jane, that's enough!" He shouted allowed. He was tired of this. They fought him twice, why couldn't it just be over with!? A vase was flung off a hallway drawer, hitting him in the back. A frantic yell left his lips, shuddering as the shard cut into his back, right through his dark gray sweater. Jesus, why wouldn't she let go?!

Shit, he needed to warn the others. Biting his lip, he rushed back into his room, yelling as his desk chair hit to the wall besides him. "Jane, cut it out!" Lucas shouted, glaring around the hectic room. His eyes finally landed on the phone, and Lucas rushed forward, snatching the phone up. In the reflection of the screen, he was a lamp being flown at him. Barely dodging, he jumped off his bed, landing on his floor, the lamp crashing into the wall behind him. "God damn, this is going to cost so fucking much." Lucas couldn't help but thought, crawling under his bed.

Rushing free, Lucas bolted out of the room, quickly texting the group. Thank god for the audio feature, there was no way he could focus on running, and texting. "Guys, I don't know how, but Jane's back!!!" Lucas shouted, yelling as he was nearly hit with another object. "Lucas, what the Hell are you going on about man?" Andy texted. "Dude, typing 'AHHHHHHHHHHH' doesn't do much." Dan typed. "I'm not fucking joking, she was in my room! Now she's tearing my house apart!" Lucas exclaimed, ducking from being hit with another vase. Damnit, Lily was going to be upset about those. She worked so hard making that vase for him and his family. "Shit, are you serious?"Ava asked. "Yes, hurry!" Lucas yelped as he was hit with the damned vase finally. He was practically soaked to the bone, and covered in cuts. "Hold on, we're on our way!" Stacy frantically typed, "I'll bring my car over and pick up everyone I can!". "Get out of the house man!" Andy texted.

Not hesitating, Lucas ran down the hall, hurrying to the staircase, tensing as a photo was flung into the wall. His heart shattered, looking down at the photo. He framed the homecoming photo the Britney gave them. It was a photo booth picture he did with Krinn. "Krinn-" A yell escaped his lips as he was hit hard with the end of the dresser, falling down the stairs. To his shock, a faint cry came from the wind, a smoky aspiration forming, That damned Redfield/Jane. It's bright blue eyes were wide, and it seemed as if tears ran down it's face. What..? The smoke aspiration held out it's hand, it's smoky hair waving in the air in an all too familiar way. No, it couldn't be. Lucas reached out for their hand, and that's when his back hit the staircase.

His vision blurred, black fog taking over his vision. Had his glasses fallen off..? His head hurt so much...

The front door swung open, and Stacy let out a horrified gasp. "Oh my god, Lucas!" She ran forward, looking at the boy, tears running down her face. "Jesus..." Dan gasped out, the other's following. Dan's pulled out his phone, immediately calling for an ambulance. Stacy took his head gently resting it on her lap. "Hold on Lucas, Dan's going to call the ambulance, you going to be okay..." She whimpered, her tears falling onto his injured face. A weak grunt of pain left his lips as the tears landed on his injuries. Glossed over brown eyes looked around seeing his friends surrounding him, all worried. A weak smile grew on his face seeing a familiar concerned face staring at him, tears running down her beautiful chocolate eyes. Giving his one last smile, Lucas slowly went limp in Stacy's lap, his friends screams getting harder and harder to hear.


	3. Questions Arise

The ambulance came after a few minutes, the stretcher coming in. Stacy was hesitant to let go of Lucas, but soon let go of him when Andy put a hand on her shoulder. "They'll take care of him, let them work." Andy softly spoke. The girl frowned, letting them pick up Lucas, taking him into the ambulance, and driving off with him.

"What...what the hell happened here?" Dan asked, glancing around the destroyed house. "I'm starting to think Lucas' text are true." Ava scowled in anger. Lily quivered, looking around. "It's a complete disaster..." Lily walked around, and finding the shattered picture, her heart breaking. "Damnit Redfield. I thought we were done with this bullshit." Ava growled out. "We should take a quick look around, see if we can find anything...after that we should head to the hospital." Dan suggested, the others nodding. All of them began to search for anything pertaining to Redfield or Jane... or even Noah. He had vanished after everything, and some of them wondered if he took Jane's place.

But if so...why did he go for Lucas?

The five of them found nothing to the evil spirit. Letting out a sigh of defeat, Stacy pulled her car keys from her phone. "Let's...go see how things are with Lucas." She said. They all piled into the car, driving to the hospital. To think the nightmare was finally over...guess it was never going to end.

Unknown to the group, they were being watched as they drove away from the house.

After half an hour of driving, the group found themselves in front of the hospital. "I hate it here..." Lily grimaced, remembering the last few times they visited someone here. "Sorry about that." Dan sighed. "Don't, you had no control of that, dude. Let's head inside." Andy spoke, making his way inside, hobbling a bit on his crutches.

To their surprise, they found Mr. and Mrs. Charleston. Well... Mr. Charleston and Ms. Toul. They had overheard the couple were no longer together, the loss of their own child to big of a loss. Different methods of grieving led to arguments. Seeing them together was a shock.

"Ms. Toul? What are you doing here?" Dan couldn't help but ask, shock written on his features as he looked at the middle-aged Asian woman. There was so much of Krinn in her features, it hurt slightly. "We heard Lucas got hurt." Mr. Charleston spoke, seemingly unphased. While more European in his appearance, you could tell Krinn was his daughter just from their personalities. "Lucas meant so much to our sweet girl, it only made sense to check on him." Ms. Toul spoke, a frown growing on her face. The poor woman seemed to have aged since the death of their daughter. "Heard it was a break in or something? Dammit, you think the police would be better after what happened to you kids." Mr. Charleston growled out, brown eyebrows furrowing in anger. "It's fine about the police. I'm just glad we got there when we did...I don't want to think what would've happened if we came any later." Lily shuddered.

They couldn't lose someone else...not again.

Saying a quick goodbye to the two, they approached the front desk, searching for anything on their friend's status. "Excuse me, was a Lucas Thomas just put in here? He got pretty bruised up." Stacy quickly explained to the nurse at the front desk. The man at the front desk looked at the group, before turning to his computer, typing some things down. "Yeah, just had a boy with that name be brought in. He's in the ER, no updates yet, you'll have to wait." The man explained. Stacy gave a soft huff, moving back to the waiting room. "Guess we're stuck here a few hours." Stacy breathed out, sitting down and pulling her phone out of her purse. The others did the same thing, taking out their phones to tell their parents and the others where they were.

To their surprise, three people ended up coming. Connor, Tom, and even Britney. "What are you guys doing here?" Andy questioned. "Rude much?" Britney shot back. Ava glared at her, but said nothing. "Connor, why are are you here?" Stacy asked. "Mom didn't want you alone, so she called me over. Can't blame her though, the past month's been crazy." Connor remarked, frowning slightly. "You don't need to tell us twice." Dan said.

All of them sat silently in the waiting room, not knowing what to say or do really. Nearly an hour had passed, and both of Krinn's parents had left, needing to do things. Ava scowled, watching the two leave. "I can't believe them." The girl growled out. "Ava..." Lily frowned. "No. it's been a week and they already gave up. We're suffering too, and their trying to say it was a fucking accident. Their just like the news, making up excuses for what happened. They say their own daughter's death was an accident, a bunch of teens acting dumb." Ava hissed out. "Wait, they thought it too?" Tom questioned, mouth agape. "No, they helped start the whole thing. It's all the news believes, no one will believe us now. They just say the mind makes things up, or that were too traumatized to think straight." Stacy grimaced. "I can't believe that. They just treat their daughter's death like a dumb accident." Andy growled out.

"Well, I say we prove it." Stacy spoke. "Come again?" Britney asked. "I'm not going to let Krinn die for nothing. We're going to find out what happened, stop it, and show the truth of what happened to Krinn. People need to know what happened to her, and I'll be damned if I stay and sit on my ass." Stacy stated, anger cascaded on her features. "Holy shit, you're fucking awesome Stacy." Andy smirked, making the girl grin. "Your right...Krinn deserves this, we can't let someone else just be casted out as a accident." Lily spoke out. "Hell yeah, I didn't suffer through all that to let it restart." Dan said.

"It's never happening again, not on our watch.". Connor frowned at the group, holding his tongue on what he knew. He didn't know how they'd react if they knew...knew that... Krinn had taken Jane's place as Redfield, or whatever that monster was. It'd destroy them.

Their moment was cut short by the nurse, telling them they could go see Lucas. "Think he's awake?" Britney asked, an unnatural sadness in her voice. She wasn't the closest with the group, but the death of Krinn hit a lot of people harder than they thought. "If her is, I hope we can get some answers." Dan spoke, all of them following the nurse deeper into the hospital, until they found Lucas' room.


	4. So Close

Lucas let out a soft groan, pain erupting in his head. "Ugh, Christ it feels like a dumbbell fell on my head." The boy grimaced, rubbing his head. Upon doing so, he was surprised to find a white sleeve. "Huh?" Lucas sat up, looking himself over, finding himself in his homecoming attire. What.. what on Earth? "Come on guys, in here!" Noah called out, making the boy's blood run cold. Lucas turned in horror, staring wide eyed as their group began to enter the ruins...how Krinn followed that bastard inside. "STOP!" He tried shouting, finding his words unable to leave his throat suddenly. Frantic hands latched on his throat, confused on why he couldn't speak. His body shook watching her enter the ruins after them, and he ran forward.

He tried shouting her name, but nothing came out still. Lucas rushed to the ruins, horrified as roots covered the entrance. No, he had to get inside, he needed to get in!! Struggling as hard as he could, the roots seemed to push just as much force back at him, keeping him from getting in. Tear streamed down his face as he saw Krinn get forced down to the caves in the ruins by Noah. NO! NO PLEASE NOT AGAIN! He couldn't lose her, not again! He tried screaming her name out again, but nothing came out. 

That's when cold hands grabbed his cheeks from behind, making him tense up. "I'm here Lucas, I'm here." Tears streamed down his cheeks, whimpering hearing her voice, slowly crumbling weakly in the grasp of the roots. "Krinn..." It barely came out as a whimper, choking on his sobs. The cold arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly. "I'm here Lucas, I never left." Lucas slowly glanced back, looking wide eyed seeing the black shadowy figure that they knew as Redfield and turned into Jane.

But...that voice, it was definitly Krinn's. Trembling, Lucas turned his gaze from hers, staring into the ruins. Faintly, he could make out some words scrawled on the wall. Redfield had been crossed out, Jane's name underneathe it. But it was crossed out, and beneath Krinn's name. No, no. She took Jane's place..?!

"Lucas!" The boy's eye shot open, panicked. Well, one eye, as his left eye must've been covered considering he couldn't see the left side of anything. "Oh my god, guys he's finally awake!" Was that Britney? With his barely focused vision, Lucas was able to spot at least seven blurry figures in his vision, crowding around him. What...? He went to sit up, when plane exploded through his body. "UGH!" He grimaced, following back on something soft. "Dude, don't move!" Andy exclaimed. "Lucas you're hurt pretty bad, please don't move." Stacy's concerned voice caught his attention. "You're in the hospital, it's safe, we promise." Lily spoke softly, not loud as the others thankful. "W-What...?" Lucas could barely wheeze out.

With his vision slowly regaining, he could make out the figures better, but it was still blurry. Where had his glassesgone..? Noticing this, Lily moved, and returned with something in her hand. "The left lense was the only one damaged thankfully." She said, putting it on his face. "T-Thank you, Lily..." Lucas rasped out. "Of course." She said. Ava stepped over, in his side of vision thankfully. "You texted us earlier today about being attacked. We came fast as we could, and found you wrecked man. Didn't expect you to live honestly. We.... we were all so scared waiting for the doctors to let us in." Ava had an unusual sadness in her voice, it hurt hearing it coming from her of all people. The others had the same sad look on their faces...they all couldn't lose anyone else.

"Dude...what happened?" Dan hesitantly asked. The chill returned to Lucas' body, a haunted look over his features. The memories of the nightmare came back, memories of the attack. There was no doubt that Krinn was now the demon in the ruins. She switched places with Jane and... christ.

"Redfield...it's not him or Jane." Lucas whispered out in terror. "What do you mean?" Andy asked in confusion. "Lucas, you look ready to faint." Connor remarked, having a sneaking feeling of what the boy was going to say. "It's neither of them...it's...it's Krinn, she took Jane's place after we won the game. Krinn's body died, but she's taken Redfield's place." The boy explained.

The others looked at him horrifed, not knowing what to say at his explanation. "No...no that's not possible." Stacy gaped, not knowing what to say. "There is no FUCKING way that thing was Krinn! It trashed your house and nearly killed you!" Andy snapped angrily. "Y-Yeah, Kang's right, she would never do that. I didn't know her that much, but I know she wouldn't attack the dude she was hitting on since middle school." Britney stuttered out. Connor frowned, looking at the floor, before shaking his head. "He's right.".

It was his turn to be stared out in confusion. "I beg your pardon?" Lucas questioned. "Krinn did take Jane's place...because I saw her name carved out under her's after you all escaped the ruins that night."


	5. Her

Everyone stared at the blonde in disbelief, including Lucas who was claiming he saw Krinn. "Y-You knew..?" They boy could barely muster out the words, his face blank. Conner gave a small nod, a frown heavy on his face. "I knew ever since that night. I didn't want to tell because I knew you were all mourning her." Conner stated. "That wasn't your choice to make." Ava bitterly remarked, glaring at him. "I know." Conner sighed out. Stacy shook her head, her ombre hair swaying back and forth. "You should have told us Conner, we deserve to know..." His younger sister spoke, hurt clear in her voice.

They were all hurt. Krinn...sacrificed her own life to take Jane's place. And for what?

A look of horror grew on Lily's face, the girl gasping. "If... if she switched places with Jane, is she still there?" Everyone turned to Lily, completely in disbelief. "Holy shit..." Andy gaped. "So wait, your saying Krinn could still be there?" Tom spoke. Lucas looked at them, and leaned up, gasping harshly in pain. "Lucas, what are you doing?!" Stacy exclaimed, quickly rushing over to lay him back down. He was determined however, moving to sit back up. "You got broken bones dude, lay back down please!" Dan begged, not wanting his friend more hurt than he already was.

"Krinn could be stuck there still... we... I need to get her back, I have to get Krinn out of there..." His voice wavered, struggling to hold back tears. "Lucas..." Lilly frowned. "Lucas, we get it, what happened to her was horrible, but busting out of a hospital ain't gonna do any good for you or her!" Ava stated, "Wanna help her? Get better so we can kick the ass of any of those damned forest monster's that come out.". He went to argue, before sighing heavily. There was no point in arguing with her... "Fine, I'll wait until I'm in a wheel-" He began. "You'll wait until your using crutches dude. My leg's busted still, and I want to get her back as much as you." Andy stated. Lucas grimaced, not liking the idea whatsoever, but eventually he gave in.

Long weeks placed, and soon Lucas was well enough to use crutches. It took two months, but the very first say he got his crutches, the team got to planning. Pulling out his phone, Lucas texted the group. "Two months, it's been two months people. No more waiting." He typed, pocketing the phone in his pocket. Grunting, he pushed himself up off the bed, grabbing his crutches. His phone immediately vibrating, making him groan. Sitting back down, he pulled out his phone, checking.

No surprise, it was Stacy acting like the mom of the group. 'Are u sure ur good enough 2 go? We can wait another day!' She typed out. 'We've already wasted two months. No more waiting.' Lucas responded, pocketing his phone for the second time. Standing up one again, he grabbed his crutches, leaning on them for support. His leg wasn't 100% yet. Hell, most of his body wasn't 100%. Moving past his dresser, the boy couldn't help but look at himself in the mirror. "God..." He grimaced, leaning forward.

Around his neck was a bulky brace, fractured collar bone was not a good feeling. The swelling on his face was nearly gone, but he still had an ugly dark bruise underneath his right eye. Thankfully his parents were able to replace his glasses, and they were more lenient on him due to his injuries. Guess getting thrown down the stairs by your ghost girlfriend had benefits. No more groundings. His left hand was in a brace, making the crutches uncomfortable. During the fall, his back was knocked out bad, and it was always hurting. Guess he could complain about his back with his dad now. The pain in his back matched the pain in his head too, he'd get agonizing migraines at random, it's gotten to the point his mother's recommended more doctor's appointments.

"I can't let this stop me." He grimaced, walking out of his room, and stared silently at the chair attached to a railing on the stairs. His father had it built in a single day, wanting Lucas to be able to travel easy. As embarrassing as it was, he still needed it. Walking alone was exhausting, going up and down the stairs was difficult. Shaking his head, he sat on the chair, putting the crutches on his lap, and sent it down. The moment he was down, he began hobbling to the front door.

"Lucas?" His mother asked, making the boy silently swear. His mother stepped into the hall, giving her son a concerned look, "Where are you going dear?". "I'm going out with the other's. We're going to see Venom. Lily keeps bringing Eddie x Venom, and Andy is super excited." Lucas felt bad for lying, but there was no way his mother would let him out, fresh on crutches, to the woods. A sigh left her lips, and she soon turned to her purse on her table, taking out her wallet. "Here, buy all the snacks you want sweet heart. Just remember to brush." Lucas went to stop her, but let out a soft sigh. There was no point in arguing with her. "Thanks mom." He said. His mother stood on her toes, pressing a kiss onto his chiseled chin, "Be back before 10, and if you need a ride, don't hesitate to call.".

The sudden interest in his life was strange to get used to. After everything that happened, his mother did a complete 360. She was super interested in his life, always checking up on him. Always ready to show up when he needed her. It was nice but...he felt guilty in a ways for it.

Giving his mother a goodbye kiss, he stepped outside the door, just in time for Conner's truck to pull up. "Hop in kid." Conner called out, making Lucas grumble under his breath. "Need help with anything?" Stacy asked from the passenger seat. "No, I got it thanks, just uh, open the door please." Lucas asked. Thankfully, Dan leaned over, opening the door for him. With Ava's help, Lucas pulled himself into the car, closing the door next to him. "Let's go see Krinn." He said. Conner nodded, driving down the road to the familiar forest.

Dread filled the entire group as the truck pulled up the edge of the forest, all of them looking at each other. "Well...we're here..." Lily gulped. "Let's get going then." Andy spoke, trying to cool his nerves. With Dan and Ava's help Lucas got out of the truck, silently looking into the forest, a feeling of familiarity crossing him. But it was fresh. From his dreams. "This way." He spoke, leading the way. It was too late to back out now. All of them headed into the forest, unaware of a figure watching them.

"Holy shit..." Noah breathed out, hiding in the treeline.


	6. Where is She?

"Krinn... Krinn?!" Lucas shouted deep into the woods, yelling as loud as he could without stressing his wounds. All of them wandered the woods, searching for her. "Krinn, Krinn it's us! Your friends!" Lily pleaded, searching for any sign of her. Stacy stepped over some roots, glancing around. "Come on Krinn....if you're really out there, we all miss you so much and want to help." Stacy begged.

Suddenly everything around them went quiet. The birds stopped chirping, nothing. There was...nothing. All they could hear around them was the faint winds and...a whisper? "What...the hell?" Dan asked, shaken up slightly. They all glanced around nervously, when their blood when cold, eyes wide as whispers were heard in the wind. "W-Who's there?" Lily asked. The whisper's continued, as if mocking them. "Alright enough of this. Show yourself you damn demon!" Ava bellowed out, gripping her knife that she had taken from her boot. "Ava, what if it's Krinn?" Lily questioned. "And what if it isn't...?" Andy remarked sadly. Lucas grimaced at the idea, he didn't know what was worse. Her being dead after all.... or that she really had taken Jane's place as the demon trapped in the ruins.

Refusing to give up, Lucas began shouting her name on again. "KRINN! KRINN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, going as fast as his injured body could. "Lucas?" Dan gaped, watching him power through the woods. "Lucas, please be careful, we don't need you hurting yourself..!" Stacy called out, following after him. "Krinn, Krinn come out please! We're your friends!" Lucas shouted. His shouts were cut off as the winds suddenly stopped, there was...nothing. Just...quiet.

The teens were standing scared again, stuck in a small clearing. "W-What..?" Andy gasped. "What is it, Andy?" Dan asked. The basketball player raised up a shaky hand, pointing towards the treeline. The others looked, their blood running cold.

They all looked over, finding a black shadowy figure standing at the treeline, watching them with glowing blue eyes."Oh my god..." Stacy gasped out, covering her hands over her mouth. Lucas stared forward, brown eyes wide in shock. "K-Krinn...?" His voice wavered, tears threatened to run down his face. The figure floated above the ground, tilting their head curiously as he spoke, looking at the group. "Is it really you...after all this time..?" Lily whimpered, tears running down her cheeks. "Jesus girl..." Ava breathed out, seeing what she had become. "It's us...your friends Krinn." Andy spoke, hoping to get her to focus.

"F-Friends..?" The figure whispered out, tilting their head curiously. "OMG." Stacy gaped, hearing it speak. "Y-Yeah, it's us... it's us Krinn." Lucas spoke, trying to get her to remember him by slowly moving forward. He reached his least injured hand out to her, and the figure looked at his hand. Their black smokey fingers wrapped around his hand, making Lucas gasp in pain, the other's looking over scared. Gently waving them off, he looked at the figure before him, their black wispy body gently moving in the winds. "Krinn... I...I can't believe it's you..." Lucas whispered, taking his other hand to cup her cheek. 'Krinn' looked at him wistfully, looking him over. "What is she doing?" Andy asked. "Oh no." Ava grimaced in realization. "What's up Ava?" Stacy questoned. "Guys...she doesn't remember us." Ava spoke.

Her words cut through everyone life a knife, leaving them in a stunned position. It took a few moments to recuperate. "No, there's no way she doesn't remember us. We're her friends, we all grew up together!" Andy exclaimed, clearly angry. "Andy, calm down please." Dan asked. "No Dan! This is fucking BULLSHIT! She's our friend, and we let this happen to her!" Andy shouted. "We didn't know she'd do that...!" Lily whimpered. "Calm the hell down-" Ava began. "Damnit! I shouldn't have let myself get caught at the dance! If I didn't get caught, none of you would've been forced to come after me that night..!" Andy shouted, his voice wavering the father he got into the sentence, breaking his friend's hearts. 

Andy grimaced realizing what he said. "You...you blame yourself?" Lily asked. Andy grew silent, staring at the ground. "Andy I didn't...I.." Lucas gasped as loud voices came from the woods, near where they entered. "Guys! Guys are you there?!" Tom called out loudly. 'Krinn's' eyes dimmed hearing the voices, and she quickly vanished. "No, come back!" Lucas pleaded, but she was gone. His heart crumbled, staring into the empty forest as he heard heavy footprints behind them.

"Their in here!" Conner called out, appearing with Britney and Tom. "Oh my god, there you are!" Britney rushed over, hugging her girlfriend tightly, "I was so worried, you weren't answering your text or anything!". Tom sprinted over, panting heavily. "I-I need...to work out." Tom panted heavily, leaning on his knees. "Did you guys find anything? You were gone for at least an hour." Conner asked, looking over his sister. "We did find her, but YOU GUYS scared her away." Stacy hissed out in anger. Britney let go of Lily, her eyes so wide they nearly bulged from her head. "What the hell? You guys are saying you actually found her?!" Britney exclaimed. "We did....but now we're back to square one..." Lucas looked at the tree line, his heart completely broken, nerve dropping. "Lucas..." Stacy walked over, putting a hand on his arm. 

"She's gone..." He breathed out.


	7. I'm Never Giving Up On You

It had been two years since that very day, since they saw her. They were so damned close, but it failed in the end. No matter how many times they visited those woods, they wouldn't see her. And as much as it hurt, they had lives they had to continue. They graduated from Westchester High School, and they all had gone their separate ways for their ideal careers. 

Lucas couldn't entirely blame them, they all had to continue at some point. Lily had gone off to create games, her current project being Pixel Moon. Ava was writing a book, probably something supernatural. Andy, of course, was pursuing his career in basketball, and everyone made sure to go. Surprising everyone, Stacy went into journalism, hell, last they heard she got some college fraternities closed down. Dan ended up turning his trauma around, wanting to take a psychology degree, and become a trauma counselor. All of them had moved on, done great things...all except...him.

Lucas was still hellbent on saving her. On bringing back Krinn Charleston. He had been studying with Ava for the past two years, praying they'd find something, anything to bring her back. No such luck though.

"Hey dude, you look trashed." Lucas looked up from his laptop, finding Tom standing at his side. Even being at the same college it was hard to process his new look. Tom had grown his hair out, tying it back into a bun. The dude was stacked now too! Andy finally got him to start working out with him, and now the dude was taking self defense classes with it. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Just late night studying..." Lucas yawned, holding his hand to his mouth. Tom snickered a bit, sitting besides him and placing a coffee down before him. "Oh thank god." Lucas breathed out, taking the coffee and downing it's contents. "Damn dude, you sure spent a long time 'researching'." Tom glanced around them, "Speaking of which, what do you got.".

Sighing heavily, Lucas put the cup down, turning the laptop towards Tom. "I've run dry." Lucas confessed. "No way, Lucas Thomas ran out of material to study? The world is ending!" Tom exclaimed. The other rolled his eyes, elbowing Tom. "I'm not done. I found something freaky." Lucas retorted. "Like Ava's basement scary or Stacy's period scary?" Tom questioned. Lucas gave an exaggerated eye role, "This is exactly why you don't have a girlfriend.". Taking his computer back, Lucas clicked onto a new tab, pulling up a news article. Tom looked over, his eyes widening in surprise. "Holy shit." Tom gaped.

'Mysterious drownings occurring in small town.' the article read. "Drowning happen man, especially if you live near a lake." Tom tried explaining, only to be cut off. "No, no read the rest. This had been happening for decades, and their becoming more common. There's rumors of the towns folk seeing strange beast in the waters. Were noises, monster from the lake." Lucas explained to the other, slowly convincing the other boy. "So... kinda like what happened here, only it comes from the lake?" Tom asked, leaning over his friend's shoulder. "I guess so." Lucas looked at the article more, a sense of familiarity.

"We need to go to this town, now." Lucas stated, standing up and packing his laptop into his backpack. "Woah, what are you doing man? We can't just up and leave college." Tom exclaimed, following Lucas. The taller boy let out a scoff, glancing at the Asian boy besides him. "Why not Tom? You're always talking about how Hartfeld is to hard, and it's making your depression worse. Plus, it's getting in the way of me finding answers." Lucas explained. "Kay, with me I understand myself dropping out, but you... Lucas, I miss her too, but this is your future we're talking about dude! You're Captain Planet! You wanted to fix climate change, stop pollution!" Tom remarked, "I'll go, you stay.".

"That's not happening."

Tom was taken aback by the firmness in Lucas' voice. "Woah, dude chill-" Tom began, noticing people were starting to look at them. They were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, in public, people would hear. "Tom, I'm going." Lucas growled out, keeping a tight grip on his bag, "I need answers, we all deserve answers.". "Dude, we...we can't answer these. It's to crazy." Tom spoke, following after him. He may have bulked up, but Lucas was still incredibly tall, his long legs carrying him far.

Lucas suddenly stopped, making Tom nearly run into him. "No...I need answers." Lucas' voice began to waver, shocking his friend, "I need closure. I...I'm still having the nightmares, two years later. I'll see her Tom, I see her and I'm so close....but then Redfield shows up, and takes her away from us.". The other stared in complete shock, watching Lucas just...break. 

"Krinn, Krinn didn't deserve this. She sacrificed herself...for Jane, for us. Now she's stuck there, and has no idea who she was, or of her life. It's not fucking fair. Krinn doesn't deserve that." Lucas exclaimed, the anger returning to his voice. Tom walked around, finding tears run down Lucas' tan skin. "She...she didn't deserve that... I failed her... we failed her, and left her. Tom, I loved Krinn so much. I can't leave her there, not like that.".

Strong arms wrapped around the tall boy, holding him close. "Okay dude, calm the water works, we'll go." Tom stated, making Lucas calm down. Letting go of Lucas, Lucas took this moment to wipe his face off of tears, a breathy chuckle leaving his throat. "How mortifying. Public displays of emotion." Lucas breathed out, cleaning his foggy glasses up on his glasses. 

"Yeah, now take a breath, and pack up. Tomorrow we're driving to Pine Springs and seeing what the hell is going on."


	8. Pine Springs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot will now be mostly from the viewpoint of Clara (my MC for ILB) and Lucas.

"So...this... is Pines Spring?" Lucas asked, looking outside the window. "Actually it's Pine Springs." Tom said. "Isn't that what I said?" Lucas turned to Tom. Tom opened his mouth, but shut it. "Your a dummy." He teased. Lucas scoffed, elbowing the Asian teen. "OW!" Tom exclaimed, glaring. The boys bickered, before driving up to the road.

"What's the game plan?" Lucas asked. "We find ourselves a job, and solve this mystery." Tom explained, pulling up to a house.

Thus began the long years of the, staying in Pine Springs. Studying everything they could on the mysterious drownings. Things kept getting stranger though. People barring up their windows. Stanged cloaked figures roaming around town. The drownings weren't getting better. Infact, they were becoming more and more frequent. Strange monster sightings started popping up. Bear attacks, strange looking deer. Even with the details being altered by the papers, Lucas and Tom knew. It was exactly like Westchester. And if so, it must've meant some strange entity was controlling these beast. The only problem was they had no idea how, or where to begin.

But the boys luck would soon change. Two new people came to town. Clara and Elliot Vance. Step-siblings from Chicago. They happened to be the grandchildren of their boss, Arthur, allowing the two boys to meet them.

"Tom, Lucas, these are my grandkids." Arthur spoke, gesturing to the two, the sister looking only a little younger than them. "Sup, names Tom Sato." Tom held out a hand. Clara took it, gasping as he shook her hand. "Strong grip." She breathed out, taking her hand back. Clara then turned to Lucas, taking in the second boy's appearance.

He was muscular like Tom, but not as much. His height made up for it though, he must've been roughly 6 foot! His hair was dark brown, slicked over to the left in a perfect swipe. Not a single hair was out of place. Behind thick framed glasses were a pair of deep brown eyes, flicking back and forth as if he was analyzing her. His skin was a faint chestnut. He wore a dark gay hoodie, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. Clara noticed faint...looking scars around his wrist, but decided to not say anything on the matter. He wore blue jeans, faint scuff marks on them, probably from helping her grandfather work on the boats. There were dark brown boots on him. For a guy who looked so sophisticated, he sure dressed casually.

"I've learned to relax. Stress isn't good for you." Lucas stated. Clara let out a horrified gasp, realizing she said those words out loud. She nervously messed with her ombre hair, grimacing. "I am so so sorry. I did not mean that...." She trailed off. A hearty chuckle left his throat, and he scratched the back of his neck. "Names Lucas, Lucas Thomas." Lucas spoke. "So, you got a Tom and a Thomas?" Elliot remarked. "What?" Lucas questioned. "It's a joke buddy." Tom smirked at how that flew over his head. 

Lucas groaned, he hadn't really been hanging out with many people over the years. He spent almost all his free time studying the drownings and disappearances. Nothing changed in this, he was just spending all his time researching. He felt bad though when the others would visit and he'd be too tired to talk. Stacy put a lot of effort into visiting them both. Not saying the others weren't, but Stacy was hellbent on making sure they ate and slept. Whether it be the long calls or constant text. Most would say she's clingy, but Tom and Lucas knew she was team mom.

Speaking of which, Lucas' phone began to ring loudly, making everyone look at him. "Excuse me." Lucas nervously coughed, taking his phone and leaving the room. Stepping outside the house, Lucas answered the call, holding his phone to his ear. "Hey Stacy. It's been forever since we talked. What was, five hours?" He teased. "Haha, very funny." Stacy said from the other end of the line, "Did you eat lunch? Did you get at least six hours of sleep?". He could clearly tell she was walk and talking, that Stacy Greene, a multitasker. "Yes mom, don't worry. Look, I can't stay long, Arthur's grandkids just came over and i'm pretty sure we're gonna have to give them a tour or something." Just as he said that, Tom and Clara stepped outside, "Gotta go.". Saying a goodbye, Lucas pocketed his phone, looking at the two.

"Aw, I wanted to say hi to Stacy." Tom pouted, getting nudged by Lucas. "What are we doing?" He asked. "Just got a call, broke down yacht. We're taking Clara with us." Tom explained. "Alright, let's go." Lucas followed them to the boats, and soon they hit the water, driving over to the location.

They worked on they worked hard on the boat, and by worked hard, that meant Clara sat back awkwardly 'flirting' with the yacht owner, Imogen. Lucas tsked softly to himself, looking over the engine with Tom. "Think we can fix it?" Lucas asked. "I know I can, I was better at this job than you." Tom commented. Lucas rolled his eyes, working on the repairs until the engine reved. Job well done. The two boys stood, wiping off the mess on their hands with a wet rag given to them by Clara. "Omg, you fixed it!" Imogen beamed from ear to ear, hugging them both. "Woah!" Lucas exclaimed. 

Imogen pulled back, grinning widely, "I know the perfect way to repay you, other than money. I'm having a big yacht party here tonight, and your all invited!". "Woah just like that?" Clara asked, mouth agape. "Yup, it'll be super fun, promise!" Imogen beamed. Clara looked at the girl, a small blush creeping on her as she nodded. "Alright, i'm in." She said. "Clara, the curfew, your grandpa told you about this." Tom warned. The girl scrowled, folding her arms over her chest, "He's been telling me no to everything since we came here. It's just one party, what's the worst that can go wrong if you two are there?".

"I can't come." Lucas quickly said. He hadn't been to anything related to a party since homecoming, and that still haunted him, "Stacy's coming and I don't want to leave her hanging.". "I guess it makes sense if your girlfriends visiting." Clara said, finding it odd a bit. "Stacy's not my girlfriend..." He resisted saying more, and climbed back onto their boat. "I'll drop Clara off home then, and meet you two back at our apartment?" Tom asked. Lucas nodded, and Tom drove the boat off.


End file.
